Trust me, I'm an Engineer!
by Sword Harrow
Summary: AU: It's the end of a long month for Lightning, between dealing with Snow, the Guardian Corps restructuring and her boyfriend leaving the only good news was the idiots in her old unit were being shipped out... only to be replaced by the 'engineer' Hope. Now the question is will Lightning be able to keep her sanity through Hope's escapades? "Trust me, I'm an engineer!"


Amodar sighed in content as he leaned leisurely against his canvas chair. The Bodhum sea breeze gently wafting over the yacht and ruffling his loose hawiain shirt.

He enjoyed the breeze, the sight of the ocean and smell of sea salt for a moment before a soft beep emitted from his belt. With a glance at the tracking device on his belt the large man grinned _'It's show time'_

With surprising grace Amodar stood up, gripping a treble hook with wickedly curved barbs. He swung it slowly out to his side, surveying the shimmering waves from under a pair of dark sunglasses. Somewhere, nearby, his old fish nemesis waited. The tracking device he had managed to put in the creatures hide a half year ago finally paying off as it alerted him to Mahaihike's presence. _'Come on, show yourself you monster.'_

A grey fin pierced the surface like a knife beside the still boat, Amodar swore his heart skipped a beat as adrenaline tore through his body. "I have you this time!" And like a flash of lightning Amodar sent the hook roaring through the air, letting the rope pass through his hands, forcing himself to wait until the hook bounced off Mahaihike's thick hide before jerking.

With a mighty yank the hook sank deep, and Mahaihike thrashed in a bout of surprise, almost pulling Amodar from the boat and into the water. "Not this time." He grunted, leg's spreading into apart as he was slowly dragged towards the boats railing. "Boy! Get out here, we're eating fish tonight!"

Hope's eye's shot open, his body jerking into a panicked wakefulness from his seat at the helm. "I'ma coming." Hope's freshly woken body stumbled out of the cabin, his balance failing horrible as the boat started to shake in the water. "Did you catch it yet...!" Hope's foot slammed down against his shoe lace, coupled with moving boat his balance was completely lost, his body crashing face first into the deck.

"Boy you can't go from on nap to another." Amodar laughed as Hope grabbed his nose, whimpering softly as he tried to stand. "You ought to at least help an old man catch some food first."

"Sorry, sorry." Hope scrambled shakily to his feet, making a mad dash towards a locker welded to the deck.

The white haired man deftly rummaged through the cluttered locker, wrenches, belts, a broken dagger and spare parts fitting every description hit the deck with a myriad of clanging sounds. "Any day now Hope." Hope winced the strain in Amodar's voice, Mahaihike was always a tough fish.

_'But'_ Hope grinned as he gripped a wooden stock. _'I brought support this time.'_

"Stand aside old man." Amodar glanced to the side, eye's widening at the contraption in Hope's hand. "I got this one."

"Just...what in the god's name is that?" Amodar asked partly out of a morbid sense of curiosity and partly to see if his growing dread was founded.

"This." Hope enthusiastically hoisted the device up against his shoulder. "Is a fishermans-bazooka."

Amodar blinked at the steel barb's poking out of the end of what he could only hope was a delusion of some sort. To be generous, the device looked like someone had taken baling wire, tape and a soldering iron to a metal PVC pipe, added a wooden stock under the tube, and shoved some kind of spiky net into the front end of it.

"Hope.." Amodar watched Hope shove a handful of white packed charges into the back of the weapon. "Do... you... this is a joke isn't it?"

Hope gave amodar a thumbs up as he aimed the tube out across the water. "No, Hope you better be throwing that piece of junk over the side of the boat this instant..." Amodar's words were cut off as Hope squeezed the trigger.

Amodar let go of the trebble hooks rope and grabbed at his ear, a twelve foot column of flame bursting out of both end's of the fishermans-bazooka, leaving the world in a deafened silence for a moment... a moment before the smell of burning hair wafted into Hope's nostrils.

"Gah!" Hope wildly patted at his flaming hair, having deigned running around in a circle madly hitting himself in the head the best way to put out the fire. "Amodar, I'm on fire!"

"Just...calm down." Amodar grabbed the panicking hope by the scruff of the neck. "And remember, don't thrash around to much, you'll attract sharks." And tossed the hapless young man screaming over the side of the boat.

"Amodarrrr!" Hope's shout ended abruptly with a splash as he went under water.

_'What exactly where you thinking?'_ Amodar shook his head. _'Trying to shoot Mahiahike with a bazooka.'_

Amodar looked up over the water to see where the beast was running to, only to frown at something thrashing around inside a neon yellow net. _'Don't tell me that actually worked...'_

"Hurry up and get back in the boat." amodar called as he headed towards the helm. "Looks like that 'thing' might have worked afterall..."

Four hours later.

"...Told you so." Hope grinned smugly at Amodar, biting down on a piece of fried fish.

Amodar rolled his eyes as he watched Hope from across the fire. Hope was sopping wet, shivering and shaking under the freshly set night sky. "That wasn't Mahaihike." Amodar deadpanned, wagging his ginger back and forth at Hope. "And that 'thing' gave you a new haircut."

Hope winced, running a hand over the hairless streak just above his right ear. "I'm...working on setting a new fashion trend. Can't you see it? Bazooka haircuts..." Amodar laughed boisterously as Hope dipped his head low, a sheepish smile on his face. "Okay, there are a -few- kinks to work out. But I promise the next model will revolutionize the way we fish."

"I'm sure. Are 'bazooka haircuts' a requirement for your new age fishing, or is the lack of style a choice?" Amodar leaned his back against the tree behind him, shaking his head from side to side.

_'You grew up to fast.'_ Amodar thought fondly as he watched the scrawny nineteen year old try to eat and warm up beside the fire at the same time. _'I remember when Bartholomew decided I was your 'god-uncle all those years ago.'_

"How's school going?" Amodar watched Hope's shoulders shrug, his head dip and eye's look away.

"I'm graduating in a week." Hope replied quietly.

"Something happen?"

"Heh." Hope tried to smile confidently up at Amodar, but only succeeded in looking like a kid trying to hide his emotions. "Nothing major 'sir."

Amodar stared into Hope's eye's for a few more minutes, then sighed. _'Not ready to talk about your fiancée leaving?'_

Officially Amodar knew nothing about Hope's school life except for what they talked over the holidays in Bodhum. unofficially Amodar had a file sitting in his desk detailing the major details of Hope's college years, especially the relationship he had with his ex-fiancee.

_'He's not ready to talk though, so I won't push..._' Still, the results of Hope's last psycological evaluation were disheartening. _'I need to keep an eye on you... what would I tell Bartholomew if you went and hurt yourself?'_ They showed him having to many markers for self destructive tendencies, to many for Amodar to just leave him on his own.

"aye, aye." Amodar nodded sagely at Hope. "Sorry for it to be coming to an end eh? Can't say I blame you, college is fun time in life."

"Actually I'm excited about getting a real job." An air of excitement came to Hope's voice as thoughts of his future started to work their way around his head.

"Really?" Amodar tilted his head to the side. "Do you have a job lined up after graduation?"

Hope sighed, laying back in the sand and staring up at the stars. "Nope."

Amodar raised an eyebrow. "What did you major in?"

"Engineering." Hope reached a hand up at the sky, gripping it gently as though he was holding a star."

_'If I pull some strings... I bet I can justify employing an engineer.'_ Amodar grinned. _'At least long enough to keep my eye on you, make sure you get on your feet lright.'_

"Hey, Hope." The white haired boy sat up on his elbow, looking at Amodar through the fire. "What would you do if I had a job available for you...?"

* * *

**Author's note.  
**

****Since I'm new here I'm not to sure what to say, It's been awhile since I wrote something for other people to read. This particular story started out as something goofy after my brother sent me a song ( on youtube look up ' Trust me I'm an engineer' and you will find the inspiration for this pice (-: ) Since then I've started writing a storyboard and...well, like everything else I attempt to write it's gotten out of control from there.

At this time I'm not sure how the romance element will play out or who it will be between exactly. Story boards are leaning toward HopexLight ( who would be the main characters anyways ) though if I can figure a way to work fang into the story that might work, but I don't have any ideas on how to do that right now.

The quality of the writing is... meh for me, I can do better but I'm out of practice. I hope it was an enjoyable introduction nonetheless, the next chapter has Hope and Light meeting, and so far it's shaping up to be a fun chapter. Until then, cheers.


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